ICE fining immigration attorney for alleged false asylum claims, a first for the agency
The entrance to a U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) detention facility is seen following a shooting, on September 25, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday announced is seeking to fine an immigration attorney who allegedly filed false asylum claims — the first time the agency has filed such a claim.
Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, announced five notices of intent to fine attorney Vinod Doddamani, who they say filed 32 immigration cases in which he filed 64 fraudulent documents.
Doddamani faces a $250,000 fine for what DHS says is a pattern of filing allegedly false asylum claims. He allegedly filed the “identical or nearly identical in language and substance, containing the same or nearly the same factual narrative and supporting details regarding the alleged persecution,” according to DHS.
The action against Doddamani comes after DHS’s top lawyer last month directed ICE to go after lawyers who filed fraudulent asylum claims in immigration court. DHS has never sough to punish lawyers who have allegedly file fraudulent claims before.
Filing a false immigration claim violates anti-fraud statues, according to DHS General Counsel James Percival, and those who file them should be held accountable, according to a memo from Percival and reviewed by ABC News.
“Fraudulent asylum claims threaten the safety of Americans by overwhelming our burdened immigration system and delaying the removal of dangerous criminal aliens,” said Percival. “By holding [Doddamani] accountable, we are sending a message to other immigration attorneys who engage in fraud across the country: your days of abusing and defrauding our immigration system are over.”
ABC News has reached out to Doddamani’s attorney for comment.
An ad that ran Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” shows President Donald Trump at a speech at Mt. Rushmore on America’s 250th anniversary. (U.S. Government)
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration used funds from the Department of Homeland Security to air TV ads featuring President Donald Trump in recent days, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The money was moved into a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) account for “commemorative events” on Sept. 19, and federal contract data showsthat a contract of $20 million was awarded the next day to the LMD Agency, a Maryland-based advertising agency for a “National Media Campaign.” Days later, the ads began airing.
CBP is the the agency within DHS that is responsible for securing the nation’s border and ports of entry. The funds appear to have been drawn from Trump’s signature tax and spending bill passed in 2025. The bill provided $6.2 billion for a variety of border security improvements, but also for “commemorating efforts and events related to border security.”
LMD Agency did not immediately respond to ABC’s request for comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported the source of the federal funds.
DHS has been known to use funds for advertising campaigns, including spending millions of advertisements encouraging people who are in the country illegally to self-deport.
The federal government has spent at least $1.7 million to air three different TV ads featuring Trump in recent days, according to an estimate from AdImpact, which tracks and analyzes political ad spending across TV, digital and connected TV channels.
DHS directed inquires to the White House. In a statement to ABC News, a White House spokesperson said: “These public service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad. The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country.”
Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee responded by sending a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding he answer questions about the breakdown of the funds, whether the ads are expected to continue, and DHS’s role in facilitating their airing.
“The American people deserve answers about how this president is literally stealing their tax dollars to air campaign ads celebrating himself — while doing nothing to help them afford health care or housing,” the letter says.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche attends a Cabinet Meeting at Camp Davaid, the presidential retreat, July 31, 2026, in Camp David, Maryland. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Under pressure from two Republican senators blocking his confirmation as the next attorney general, Todd Blanche said he is formally rescinding his establishment of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
Blanche posted two separate orders on X Sunday night, one rescinding the nearly $1.8 billion fund, as well as another clarifying language regarding the scope of an arrangement that had shielded Trump from facing further IRS audits of his past tax returns.
As part of Trump’s settlement with the IRS in his $10 billion lawsuit against the agency, the DOJ issued an addendum, signed by Blanche in his role as acting attorney general, that would bar the government from continuing any existing audits of tax returns filed by Trump, his family and their companies.
Cornyn said Thursday that he doesn’t need the DOJ to modify the language of the settlement, but that he wants written documentation that the settlement won’t provide tax audit immunity that extends to affiliated organizations for Trump and his family that weren’t part of the lawsuit.
Blanche’s post on Sunday is a signal that he had secured approval from Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who had been key holdouts on his nomination. The GOP senators had been working behind closed doors and in private talks with Blanche and his team to craft statements they’d find acceptable to alter the language of the controversial settlement.
“Sen. Cornyn has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice, which will be issuing a formal order permanently terminating the anti-weaponization fund and making clear in a binding written document that the scope of the audit settlement is limited to only the plaintiffs, including the President, and the IRS,” Cornyn spokesperson Natalie Yezbick said in a statement late on Sunday.
Some legal experts and even MAGA supporters of the fund, however, have already begun questioning whether it precludes DOJ from giving mass payouts to pro-Trump rioters or the clarification that Cornyn had initially sought to the IRS immunity clause.
The order dealing with IRS immunity notably states that DOJ would interpret the order to mean that it only applies to plaintiffs in Trump and his son’s initial $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS — but that interpretation doesn’t appear to be similarly binding on Trump’s personal lawyers or his family.
And some previous vocal supporters of the so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund” are already cheering on the language of the order rescinding it — noting that there’s nothing specifically barring DOJ from payouts to pro-Trump supporters who may have attacked police during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Blanche’s orders on Sunday come after Trump floated the possibility of temporarily withdrawing Blanche’s nomination to permanently lead the Department of Justice because of the resistance from the two outgoing Republican senators.
Both senators’ terms will end in January. Cornyn lost a primary battle in Texas earlier this year after Trump endorsed his opponent, Ken Paxton. Tillis announced last year he would not seek reelection after Trump threatened to field primary challengers.
Withdrawing Blanche’s nomination is a decision that would have no consequence in terms of Blanche leading the DOJ.
Blanche can continue to serve as acting attorney general. Acting department officials can serve in the role for 210 days, according to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act — however, that resets if a nomination is withdrawn.
Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. (R-NJ) arrives at the U.S. Capitol on June 30, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey arrived back on Capitol Hill on Tuesday after a nearly four-month absence.
In remarks on the House floor, Kean addressed his time away from Congress, saying he received a depression diagnosis that led to an extended hospital stay.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
